stockholm trip – day 2 part 2

February 24, 2012

frankly,
as museums go,
the nordiska seemed lackluster.
i feel like, for a cultural museum,
there should have been more stuff or something.
but i went for one reason: the knitting.
here are some of my illicit photos:(can someone give me a tutorial on how to take good illicit museum photos? i need to somehow get good focus and find an angle that doesn’t show the glare from the glass in the thirty second window of opportunity when the museum worker bees aren’t looking. tips?)

but seriously, bitches.
there were drawers full of knitting samples
and all of the other fiber arts.
i know.got that crazy look in my eye.
it’s a tribute to his character that matti didn’t try to escape.

then there was this little displaythat reminded me of franklin and his love of all things old.

but all of that was nothing compared to thisthe fucking door had been yarn bombed!
that alone made this museum worth visiting.
(yarn bomb by masquerade)

then it was off to the thielska galleriet
to see the eugène jansson exhibition.
is a gay swedish painter know for his use of blue,
his nighttime cityscapes, and use of light (my fave).

i snuck one shot of the highlight of the exhibitionit and his other works were truly moving.
i’m not a big ‘art’ guy, but i still know when someone’s special.
i wouldn’t have even known about this show if it weren’t for matti.
thanks man.
i owe ya one.

the rest of the shots from that day are of the views from the windows
or from outside while we walked from one museum to the other.
not very exciting, but the guards were nazis at the thielska.
still, maybe just a couple highlights:this one i took for my mom.
christmas cacti are big in my family.

and this one, i took for mebecause i love photos where the sun does . . .
whatever it is you call that in photos.
where it’s peaking through and kinda starbursts?
like this one i took a while ago.
what is that called?

who cares, i like it.
you get the idea.

but the highlight of day two
i’m talking the highlightthe american aisle in the grocery store.

priceless.

**if you’re not totally bored with my little travelogue, stay tuned for my final thoughts, an adorable dog, my favorite photo of the whole trip, and the knitting.

The big building with the colorful banners is probably a stage theater. One of the banners advertises “Hedda Gabler,” a famous play by Henrik Ibsen.

I’m a little surprised the museums didn’t allow photography — unless you were using a flash. Most won’t allow that. And the pen nibs are a good example of how to take a photo through a window or glass case. Take it from an angle so that the glass doesn’t reflect too much.

The grocery aisle is a hoot! All they forgot were Doritos, Cap’n Crunch, French’s mustard, Budweiser (or, worse yet, Coors Light!), Jell-O instant pudding, Slim Jims, and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese! (My version of your grocery experience happened in a small, out-of-the-way pub in a small, not particularly well-known town on the English Channel. On prominent display was an illuminated sign for Miller Genuine Draft. The back bar had bottle after bottle of Jim Beam, Jack Daniel’s, Maker’s Mark, Seagram’s VO, Canadian Club, Seagram’s Crown Royale, Captain Morgan, Hot Damn cinnamon schnapps, Malibu, etc. And there was a sign advertising nachos and buffalo wings. If it weren’t for the snooker match on the TV. . .!)

People have already applauded the clandestine knitting photos, as do I.

Is it wrong to be horrified at the grocer’s priorities on the “American section” — bloody mary mix, ranch dressing and yellow mac’n’cheese, followed by Skittles? The full shelf of Arizona iced tea is simply mind boggling as is the fact that more of us seem to be commenting on this than the knitting. It’s like a Rorasch test for American junk food.

For the discreet shots (hypothetically speaking). You need a small digital camera with a few setting options. Set your camera to silent (including the shot taking sound), and the flash to forced off, but otherwise automatic (including auto focus). Be like quiet like a ninja, and hold dead still when the small camera comes from out of your sleeve.